Launched following the Third United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3), the Neptune mission aims to structure an international effort to explore the deep ocean in support of ocean governance. Led by the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs with the support of Ifremer (the French Research Institute for Exploitation of the Sea), it takes place within a context marked by the entry into force of the Agreement on the Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity in Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction – known as the « BBNJ Agreement » – the growing ambitions for ocean protection, and the emergence of new challenges related to the deep seabed. Conceived as an international scientific program, the mission combines exploration, knowledge production, international cooperation, and the mobilization of public and private stakeholders around the major challenges of the deep ocean. It is based on a logic of coordination and harmonization of exploration capabilities, with the ambition of strengthening scientific knowledge useful for ocean governance.
In this context, Ifremer plays a crucial role, both through its scientific and operational capabilities, its expertise in the deep ocean, and its support for public policy. This document aims to clarify the foundations, objectives, and modalities of this collaboration. Beyond its scientific dimension, the mission also carries a broader strategic ambition. In a context of evolving international ocean governance, increasing challenges related to deep-sea environments, and the emergence of new exploration actors, the Neptune mission offers France a framework capable of simultaneously strengthening its scientific influence, its diplomatic initiative capacity, and its role in future ocean governance frameworks.
1. Addressing a knowledge gap that has become a governance issue
The deep seabed represents nearly two-thirds of the Earth’s surface and constitutes the largest habitat on the planet. Yet it remains largely unknown: only 28.7% of the world’s seabed is currently mapped according to modern standards, and less than 0.001% of these areas have been directly observed by a manned submersible or a remotely operated vehicle. Even though knowledge of deep-sea ecosystems remains largely insufficient, the Neptune mission takes place within a context marked by the increasing ambitions for ocean protection and regulation – marine protected areas (MPAs) in the high seas, the 30×30 target, the entry into force of the BBNJ Treaty, discussions surrounding marine genetic resources, and negotiations concerning the deep seabed within the International Seabed Authority (ISA). Thus, areas beyond national jurisdictions now concentrate major scientific, environmental, and political challenges, without yet possessing a stable and shared knowledge base capable of fully informing public decision-making.
The mission is therefore based on the idea that ocean governance cannot be sustainably built as long as these areas remain largely unexplored. In this context, the challenge is not only to produce more data, but also to strengthen exploration and knowledge capabilities in the deep ocean, in order to better understand its functioning and the dynamics that determine its evolution. In this respect, Neptune differs from systems primarily based on continuous ocean observation. The mission is first and foremost driven by an exploratory logic and aims to identify areas that are still poorly understood, map deep-sea habitats, document biodiversity, and deepen our knowledge of the interactions between ecosystems (deep seabed and water column), climate, and human activities. Scientific exploration of the deep sea is considered a necessary condition for the development of protection, conservation and management policies based on sound knowledge.
The scientific challenges identified within the mission, structured around eight major priorities defined by the international scientific committee, illustrate this ambition by covering, in particular, the mapping of deep-sea habitats, the study of areas of high biological abundance and seamounts, the exploration of ecosystems associated with geochemical energy sources, understanding the role of the deep ocean in climate balances, the analysis of biodiversity trajectories, and the study of marine genetic resources from a conservation and sustainable use perspective. The mission also places particular emphasis on developing new exploration capabilities through the use of advanced technologies, autonomous systems, new modeling approaches, and tools such as ocean digital twins.
Beyond simply producing knowledge, the Neptune mission thus aims to strengthen the scientific foundations necessary for the international governance of the ocean and intends to contribute to making knowledge about the deep ocean more accessible, more structured, and more directly applicable within international decision-making frameworks.
In a landscape that is still largely fragmented, it also intends to give coherence to scattered initiatives and to bring existing dynamics together by structuring a common framework for action.
A unique feature: linking science, diplomacy, funding, and mobilization
The Neptune mission is distinguished by its ability to connect dimensions that are most often kept separate:
• it coordinates currently dispersed scientific initiatives, giving them common priorities;
• it brings scientists into interaction with decision-making bodies, particularly within the framework of the implementation of the BBNJ treaty;
• it mobilizes diverse funding, integrating public, philanthropic, and private actors;
• it helps to structure a collective narrative around the deep ocean, in order to make visible issues that are still largely absent from representations.
2. Structuring an exploration space that is currently fragmented
One of the contributions of the Neptune mission lies in its ability to organize an exploration space that is currently deeply fragmented. Despite the proliferation of scientific initiatives in the deep ocean, these remain largely dispersed, driven by national, institutional, or thematic logics, without any real international coherence. This observation holds true on several levels. On the one hand, oceanographic campaigns are mostly defined autonomously, according to the scientific priorities specific to each institution and each country, without a consolidated and shared vision of the areas where exploration efforts are concentrated and where the main knowledge gaps persist. On the other hand, exploration capabilities themselves are being reshaped: in addition to public scientific fleets, private and philanthropic actors now possess significant resources, deployed according to distinct agendas, sometimes poorly aligned with scientific or governance priorities.
In this context, the Neptune mission introduces a methodological shift. It does not aim to replace existing initiatives, but to organize them by providing a common framework. It thus relies on a flexible coordination logic, based both on the ex-ante guidance of exploration efforts and on the ex-post certification of campaigns contributing to the mission’s objectives. This dual mechanism allows for the integration of diverse initiatives into a collective dynamic, without compromising their autonomy. In concrete terms, this structuring involves linking three previously separate dimensions: i) available capabilities (ships, technologies, teams), ii) areas actually explored, and iii) knowledge gaps identified as priorities with regard to scientific and governance challenges. Combining these elements should make it possible to define shared exploration priorities, to more effectively guide future campaigns, and to avoid dispersing resources across already well-documented areas.
A framework for coherence in scientific and political action
Neptune introduces several changes in the way deep ocean exploration is conducted:
• it makes existing activities visible, by producing a consolidated view of exploration efforts on an international scale;
• it defines collective priorities, by identifying strategic exploration areas in light of scientific and political issues;
• it guides scientific campaigns, by promoting their convergence towards these priorities, without challenging existing institutional logics;
• it organizes the circulation of knowledge, by ensuring its structuring, sharing and mobilization within governance frameworks.
Beyond these aspects, the mission introduces a crucial element: the ability to link scientific production and decision-making processes. In this respect, it is not limited to a role of technical coordination. It explicitly aims to create a continuum between exploration, knowledge production, and appropriation by public actors. The « Neptune Fellows » program illustrates this ambition. This initiative aims to involve researchers and experts in diplomatic, institutional, and scientific work related to ocean governance, in order to foster exchanges between research communities and decision-makers. By placing these professionals in direct contact with international arenas, the mission seeks to facilitate the translation of scientific results into knowledge that can be used in negotiations and public policy. This link represents a significant evolution compared to existing mechanisms, which are generally focused on knowledge production without organizing its integration into decision-making processes. In this sense, Neptune positions itself both as a scientific mechanism and as a lever for ocean governance, helping to reduce the gap between what is known, what remains unexplored, and what is decided.
3. Ifremer and the Neptune mission: a structural convergence serving an international ambition
Ifremer’s involvement in the Neptune mission is not a matter of opportunistic positioning, but rather a structural convergence between the mission’s objectives and the Institute’s own capabilities. At the crossroads of scientific, operational, and institutional challenges, Ifremer emerges as a key player capable of making a decisive contribution to the structuring and deployment of Neptune, without, however, being its sole focus.
This coherence rests first and foremost on a direct alignment with the Institute’s scientific priorities. Since its creation in 1984, deep-ocean exploration has been one of its core areas of focus, mobilizing specialized research teams, significant infrastructure, technological capabilities, and a long history of experience in conducting oceanographic campaigns. As such, Neptune does not create a new field of intervention for Ifremer; it extends and harmonizes skills and activities already central to its mandate.
Beyond this thematic proximity, Ifremer possesses crucial operational advantages for the mission’s implementation. The French Oceanographic Fleet, operated for the benefit of a broad scientific community (CNRS, IRD, MNHN, SHOM, universities, etc.), constitutes a major tool for accessing deep-sea environments, conducting complex campaigns, and deploying advanced instrumentation. Ifremer’s ability to combine scientific research and exploration resources gives it a unique position in the French and international landscape and explains its role in the Neptune project’s structure.
Ifremer also provides essential scientific structuring capabilities. Through its involvement in establishing and leading the mission’s scientific advisory board, it contributes to defining research priorities, evaluating supported projects, and ensuring the scientific rigor of the chosen directions. This role, which is part of a logic of supporting public policies, helps to ensure the credibility of the mission while maintaining a close link between knowledge production and governance issues.
A structuring contribution to the Neptune mission. Ifremer’s contribution to Neptune can be summarized around three complementary functions:
• a recognized scientific capacity, based on specialized teams and international expertise on deep ecosystems;
• a structuring and coordination role, supporting the definition of scientific priorities and the organization of the mission;
• an interface with public action, enabling the linking of scientific work to the needs expressed in international frameworks, in particular in the context of the BBNJ treaty.
This contribution, however, is part of a logic of openness and partnership and must be understood within the broader framework of an initiative conceived from the outset as international and multilateral. While Ifremer provides major scientific and operational support and plays an important role in the mission’s structure, the mission’s strength lies in its ability to bring together a diverse range of actors – scientific institutions, agencies, foundations, and international partners – in a spirit of shared cooperation.
From this perspective, Ifremer positions itself as a central but not exclusive player. It contributes to organizing, supporting, and lending credibility to the mission, while fully allowing for the involvement of other partners, whether public, private, or from the international academic sphere. This stance is all the more essential given that the mission is part of a multilateral dynamic, stemming from its integration within the framework of UNOC3 and, more broadly, international negotiations on ocean governance.
Beyond its scientific objectives, the Neptune mission thus constitutes a strategic lever for France. By combining exploration, knowledge production, international cooperation, and science-policy dialogue, it offers a framework capable of simultaneously strengthening French scientific influence, its capacity to take the initiative in international debates on the ocean, and its contribution to the development of future governance frameworks. In a context marked by the rise of new players, new exploration capabilities and new financing methods, Neptune thus contributes to France’s ability to remain a key player in major international dynamics related to the Ocean.
Source : Ifremer
